1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a chemical-etched die of the kind to be used in combination with a (e.g., roller) press to produce die cut shapes from a sheet material. The die has a cutting edge which can be precisely registered by the user in alignment with a pattern that is printed on the sheet material from which the shapes are to be cut.
2. Background Art
Dies have long been used by educators, marketing professionals, and those in the arts and crafts industry to produce a wide variety of shapes and designs that are cut from sheet material in response to a force that is generated by a die press and applied to the dies to push cutting edges (i.e., blades) of the dies through the sheet material. Reference can be made to U.S. Design Pat. Nos. D607,910 and D585,081 for examples of hand-operated and motorized roller press machines which are adapted to accept one or more dies to cut through sheet material.
In some cases, a particular pattern to be die cut is printed on the sheet material. The user typically tries to align the cutting blade of the die with the printed pattern on the sheet material. If the alignment is accurate and the die and sheet material are run together through the press, a precise shape corresponding to the printed pattern will be cut from the material. However, if the user cannot see the cutting blade or know its exact location on the die, the die may not be properly registered with the printed pattern. Consequently, the die cut shape may not be as precise as intended.
Reference can be made to U.S. Pat. No. 7,055,427 for an example of a chemical-etched die that may be subject to the registration problem described above when the die is laid over a sheet material and run through a press.